As its acronym defines, CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management and is a software system that assists business owners with that process. A CRM also helps with organization, efficiency, time management, and impressing customers at every step of the way.
CRM software has been around since the mid-1990s, but given market needs, it has solidified over the last decade. CRM platforms are powerful systems that connect all your prospect and customer data in one place. A CRM records and analyzes all calls, emails, and meetings, which helps improve customer service, drive sales, and increase revenue.
It can be personalized on a large scale while delighting each of your prospects and customers with messages tailored just for them. You can track, segment, and slice data to make your sales and marketing smarter, more powerful, and more efficient. The sheer volume of data you can track for each individual user in a CRM system is astounding and exciting. Let's delve into the details.
What does a CRM system do?
Managing contacts on a large scale is the primary function of any customer information system, whether it's cloud-based CRM or CRM software on your server. With this tool, you can store and manage data for every type of contact, from leads to business partners.
Many small businesses still struggle with spreadsheets, inboxes, or even sticky notes to track these kinds of relationships. But at some point, those "systems" simply can't keep up. If you have a hundred contacts or more, it's time to try a CRM for your small business.
Each of these fields can be updated, modified, and customized as you progress to suit your needs.
With an old Excel spreadsheet, you can track:
Name
Email
Phone number
Website
Address
Customer type
Purchase date
With a CRM, you can track all of that plus:
Lead scoring based on triggering factors
Company size
Multiple contacts within a company
Contact title
Note history
Current sales pipeline stage
Detailed reports
And much more.
Do you only have a customer name and email address? That's enough to use CRM as a simple contact management system. A good CRM allows you to add planned or completed activities, such as follow-ups with new prospects, and then track data on what kind of responses have worked (or not) so far.
Add notes about decision-makers in each business you sell to, and you'll have an edge in a data-driven sales strategy. Add industry and company size information, and you can segment customers by channel.
A CRM software gives you a glimpse of how hot or cold a lead really is. The more data you give your CRM, the more it can help you.
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